First Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel
by GraceSellers
Summary: Pemberley bustles on Christmas Eve as Elizabeth is expecting, snow is falling, and guests are descending for the Darcy's first Christmas Eve as husband and wife. Georgiana's plot to make love bloom between herself and a young man backfires as her present from Darcy, two orange kittens, wreck havoc on Pemberley Manor.
1. Chapter 1

**First Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Sequel**

By Grace Sellers

A small, white snowflake fell from the brooding gray clouds and spiraled to the ground.

It was followed by another. And another.

Soon a flurry of flakes drifted down from the skies.

Fitzwilliam Darcy pulled back the plush green curtain from the window to see the legion of flakes fall to Pemberley's faded lawn. It wasn't unusual to snow, it was after all Christmas Eve, but he hoped it wouldn't disrupt roads and affect their dinner guests tonight. He let the curtain fall back into place and stood at the window so that for a moment, he saw his image reflected back to him-that of a serious, frowning man.

"It's snowing," he said to no one in particular.

"Mark my words, it will be the worst storm this century," his mother-in-law, Mrs. Bennet, clucked her tongue and said from her comfortable chair next to the blazing fireplace.

"Yes, well, my dear, as we are only eleven years in, that may not be saying much," her husband, Mr. Bennet, said from behind his newspaper on the other side.

"Oh, you!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed and waved at him with her hand.

Darcy heard each of his in-laws but said nothing.

He wasn't terribly worried about his guests. What struck him cold with fear was the fact that his new bride of less than a year, Elizabeth, was eight and-a-half-months pregnant with their first child. He watched her stomach grow fuller each week, secretly afraid she would go into labor when a doctor couldn't get to her for any number of reasons: poor weather, the holidays. And now both happened at once.

He needed to relax. That's what everyone told him. But then, for the most part, everyone was a fool, and the holidays were the least relaxing time of the year.

He pardoned himself, crossed the cognac-wooded hall and went to the marble stairs in the entryway, where his wife, Elizabeth, and his sister Georgianna were twinning garlands along the stairs in the great entryway. He frowned when he saw that Elizabeth stood on the steps.

"I thought you were supposed to be seated," he blurted before he had time to think better of it. He was trying to be less overt in his worry, but failing miserably.

Elizabeth turned when she heard him approach, revealing her increasing figure covered in a dress with an apron pulled tight over her swollen belly. Despite his incessant worry, her lovely face smiled to see him and her eyes sparkled.

He was a lucky man.

"Do not tell me you mean to keep me from hanging greens for my first Pemberley Christmas, husband?"

Darcy hesitated. He didn't want to be the typical worrying father-to-be, and the physician insisted Elizabeth could engage in any behavior she felt comfortable doing. But then she was also more than eight months along, and although she had slightly shortened her daily walks so as not to go into the woods, she still took them, along with managing the housekeeping at Pemberley. He promised to stop needling her about it, but was finding it more difficult than he expected. He wondered if he was turning into a masculine version of his mother-in-law, which frightened him.

He forced himself to smile. "Of course not, I just thought Georgianna was doing more of the actual hanging."

Georgianna's blonde head of hair turned when she heard her name and laughed.

"Oh, pish-posh, William. I have told her to let me do it three times, and she insists on hanging things herself. But look how well she is."

Indeed, she did look very well. Her eyes and skin glowed with light, and her dark hair was glossier and bouncier than ever. Even her lips appeared to naturally flush a deeper red. Her condition had a surprising effect on him. He had been told both her physical condition and disposition may change during this time, and others warned him that she may not always be the delightful wife he had married. To his surprise, he found himself more deeply aroused by her quickening figure. She looked more womanly and desirable, and they both found their desire for one another increasing rather than dissipating.

As a matter of fact, seeing her standing even now in the natural light of the hall had a stirring effect on him. He had to shift his attention to the decorations to avoid thinking too much about her lush body. He eyed the evergreen boughs and holly laced with ivy and Christmas Rose she wound around the banisters.

Elizabeth moved toward him, smiling, and touched his sleeve. "You are sweet to be concerned, but I am perfectly well. And moving helps ease any discomfort." Her touch seared through him, warming his blood, and he reminded himself that they would have time together alone later tonight.

"Does it look festive?" Georgianna said.

"Yes, very," Darcy said. He inhaled the pleasant pine scent. "It smells good too. Have you noticed it's snowing?"

Georgianna looked out the window and sighed happily. "It's so pretty."

"Hopefully our guests will not be inconvenienced," Darcy said and looked at Elizabeth. "Although considering the lot we've invited, it may be better if some stayed home."

Elizabeth met his gaze and gave him a tender smile. "Nonsense, besides my parents are already here and we are trapped with them, regardless."

"Do you think the snow will hinder our guests?" Georgianna asked, turning to look at her brother.

"Is there someone are you worried about, specifically?" Darcy asked, peering at her. "Anyone I should be worried about?" Georgiana was seventeen, and nearly an age to have suitors, which, frankly, made him perspire a great deal.

Georgianna rolled her eyes and ignored him, continuing to lay green boughs. Elizabeth set down the garland on the stairs and walked to him and kissed his cheek. "William, do not pry."

"I wasn't prying…" Darcy said as his wife moved back to view the stairs. Obviously, he was not the focus of their attention. He turned to climb up the stairs.

"Sir Broods-a-lot is leaving," Georgianna said as he walked upstairs.

"Georgianna, you shouldn't tease him," Elizabeth said as the door behind him swung closed. Apparently, they were having more fun without him. Darcy went to his office to watch the snow come down and fret in private.

* * *

Elizabeth watched her husband's back retreat upstairs.

_Poor man. _

He was completely out of his element with her condition. She'd never seen him so nervous and distracted. At least twice in the last month, she'd woken up in the middle of the night and found him staring at her as she slept. The first time, she'd nearly screamed. The second, she hit him with her pillow. He'd said it reassured him to watch her breathe. "Compared to the alternative?" she'd asked. She knew he was used to controlling circumstances in his life, and her condition was one he couldn't.

At the same time, she'd never been happier. Her condition was progressing well, and she felt little discomfort, but instead felt peaceful contentment at the upcoming birth. For once, she knew nature would take its course.

But moments of her peace seemed to cost Darcy anxiety. The business of growing a baby was mysterious and outside his expertise. He asked her how she was feeling each morning and evening, but he couldn't share her certainty everything would be well. Darcy, never the most carefree of men, seemed only to focus on what could go wrong, rejecting carriages he deemed too old, and even avoiding whole roads he feared too bumpy.

Elizabeth watched Georgianna lean forward and place another wreath above the entry hall below, envying her body's ability to do so without toppling over. She was quickly growing into a lovely young woman.

"_Is_ there anyone you're hoping to see this evening?" Elizabeth said casually as she picked up a plaid ribbon and tied it to the garland.

"Oh, Lizzie!" Georgianna said, laughing. "You are even more transparent than William in your questions."

Elizabeth smiled at her sister-in-law's comments. Georgianna was correct, neither she nor Darcy hid their concerns for her future well.

"We just want you to be as happy as we are."

Georgianna stepped back to view her handiwork. "I know. But you and my brother seem to have an unparalleled match in each other." She smiled, but sadness tinged her eyes.

Elizabeth stepped to her and placed a hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder.

"You shall be as happy, for the man who will love you will be wonderful."

Georgianna exhaled and squared her shoulders. Neither of them need mention Lfn. Wickham and how he scandalously eloped with Elizabeth's sister, Lydia this year, or how before that he had pursued and nearly eloped with Georgianna herself. It had almost broken her heart. Elizabeth worried the girl was more wounded than she showed. Wickham and Lydia's hasty elopement was the reason all her sisters were with Jane and Bingley in Hertfordshire.

"You will find a man who endeavors to deserve you," Elizabeth said softly.

Georgianna smiled tightly and went back to the basket of decorations.

"I know you mean well, Lizzie, but I want to live my life for myself, not just my brother."

Elizabeth nodded, impressed by how wise she sounded.

"I know what you mean, my dear."

* * *

An hour later, the snow still came, completely covering the grounds in white and blowing drifts into corners. But Georgianna was distracted about more important matters. Such as seating arrangements and name cards.

She stood in the dining room with a footman, pretending to arrange an ivy centerpiece in the middle of the table. She waited until the footman disappeared back through the kitchen door and then, when no one was looking, plucked the place card with her name on it off the long, finely set dinner table.

She wasn't supposed to move the cards. She knew Elizabeth worked very carefully on the seating arrangements in the last week leading up to tonight's Christmas Eve dinner, but she was desperate. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

She bit her lip and scanned the table for the name: _Hugh Devereaux_. Her heart pounded when she finally found his name card. As soon as she grabbed it, images of his handsome green eyes and wavy brown hair filled her head. Georgianna decided he was the most excellent young man in Derbyshire.

But now she had to hurry. The footman, who was setting out silverware for tonight's dinner, would be back any moment and she needed to place her card next to Hugh's so they would be seated together at Christmas Eve dinner. But she also couldn't upset the overall arrangements or Elizabeth would notice, and it would all be undone.

She felt a bit lightheaded just thinking about Hugh. This dinner was perhaps her last chance to get him to fall in love with her. Afterward, he would go back to London for the remainder of Twelfth Night, where she knew there were plenty of other young ladies vying for his attention. Hugh was quite handsome.

She laid awake at night and plotted for ways for Hugh to notice her, even imagining him without his shirt. She needed an opportunity for him to fall in love with her.

A thud came from just behind the kitchen door. She had to act quickly. She scanned Hugh's original seatmates: Isabel Shire-Smith on one side, and Fiona Scanlon on the other.

_Ugh_. Both were determined flirts, they would hang on his every word as if it were golden honey and they were bears. Besides, Fiona was tolerably pretty, while Isabel-though a dreary know-it-all-was rich, worth some five thousand pounds a year, enough to turn any young man's head, particularly a land-poor aristocrat like Hugh.

She needed to move them both if she was to have a chance.

Another noise sounded from the kitchen. She grabbed Isabel's card and set her much further down the table, next to Elizabeth's mother, Mrs. Bennet.

_Now, where to put Fiona?_

She set her name card in place of Fiona's, and glancing down the other side of the table, looked for the empty place from which she had taken her name card. The kitchen door opened, and the footman entered, back side first, carrying a silver tray of folded napkins. At the last moment, she half-threw Fiona's card into her card's now-empty spot. It sailed for a moment and then landed, sideways, but mostly in the right place.

_Brilliant. _

There, that was far enough away that Hugh and Fiona would barely be able to hear each other, let alone speak. She smiled to herself and looked innocently at the footman's annoyed face.

"I was just looking for Mrs. Darcy," Georgianna said, pretending to peer around before she walked back through the door to the hallway.

_There. _That was done_._ Now she would have Hugh to herself.

* * *

Two hours later, her hair styled with ribbons and wearing her plaid Christmas dress, Georgianna entered the dining room again, this time part of a group of chattering guests following behind Elizabeth and Darcy. Georgianna walked through the door held open by Adam Merriweather, son of a new Pemberley neighbor. She smiled at him pleasantly tonight, although she usually found him a bit gnat-like in his attentions.

Hugh was in the front part of the group, and knowing that they'd be sitting together at dinner, she allowed him space as guests laughed and stepped around each other, finding their name cards on the table.

"You're over there, Papa," Isabel called to her father. Lord Tinsley, who stood in the center, unable to locate his name card. More laughter as he spun around.

"Over here, Sir," Hugh said and pointed to a seat.

"Thank you, my boy," Lord Tinsley said.

"This is like musical chairs," someone exclaimed.

Hugh smiled, looking positively delicious in his superfine greatcoat and billowy cravat. The woven fabric of his coat brought out the green flecks in his dazzling eyes. She moved to where he stood, pretending to search for her name, knowing it was next to his.

Elizabeth walked by on Darcy's arm, her other hand protectively on her stomach. Georgianna felt a flash of guilt about moving the name cards, which Elizabeth would no doubt notice. She glanced from petite Isabel to pretty, red-haired Fiona, and decided her actions were justified.

Georgianna was almost to the chair on Hugh's side, when Fiona stepped in front of her, blocking her and sank into what was supposed to be Georgianna's seat.

"La, here I am," Fiona said.

_No, she wasn't. _

Georgianna's face flushed hotly at Fiona's error.

But then Fiona picked up a card with her name in the spot Georgianna had placed her name card.

_What the devil was going on?_

"Georgianna, you are over here," Adam called from the other side of the table, gesturing toward an empty seat at his side.

Georgianna swallowed bitterly.

Someone else had moved the cards! After she had moved them herself. She blinked.

_Blast_.

Darcy stood at his seat at the head of the table, waiting for Georgianna to find hers.

"Are you all right, G.?"

Georgianna flushed warmly at being singled out as the last person standing. It was like a humiliating game of musical chairs that she'd lost.

"Yes," she mumbled and sank down on Adam's side at the far end of the table.

Across from her was Mrs. Bennet, who smiled and nodded at her.

"You found your seat," Adam said pleasantly, and Georgianna eyed at him. _Had someone moved the name cards after she had? _

Georgianna glanced down the table to Hugh, who chatted with Fiona.

_Double Blast. _

While saying grace, everyone at the table took their neighbor's hands, and Georgianna tried not to think about the fact that she should have been touching Hugh. After a moment, Darcy intoned grace from the front of the table.

"Are you having a Merry Christmas, Georgianna?" Adam asked after Grace ended.

She had to stop herself from answering, _not yet_.

"As it is Christmas Eve, it is too early to say," she said more sharply than she meant to. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his smile fade a bit. She needed to be kinder. It was Christmas, after all. And he was their guest.

"How is your Christmas, Adam?"

She saw the light spark back in his eyes. "Very well, thank you. My father and I are quite happy to join such excellent company at Pemberley."

Georgianna smiled and tried to think of what else to say. She knew very little about the Merriweather household, only that his mother had been American and died last year and his father was in trade. Many older families in society used that as a reason to exclude them from social invitations. Elizabeth, of course, had insisted they be invited. They were rumored to be rich as hades.

Georgianna looked at Adam. She knew what it felt like to not have a mother.

"I was sorry to hear your mother passed."

"Thank you. It has been just my father and I this year. But that is kind of you to say."

He nodded and Georgianna noticed that despite his black hair and long, almost hawkish nose, he was not bad looking. Just different. He had nice large, liquid eyes.

A footman poured her claret from a decanter.

"You must be excited for the impending member of your family."

"Oh, yes, quite," Georgianna said, although she was taken aback by his mention of Elizabeth's condition. She had been told Americans lacked proper manners and now she wondered if that was the case.

"Is it still snowing?" Mr. Bennett asked from across the table. Georgianna saw Darcy frown.

"Yes, unfortunately. There seems little evidence of it letting up tonight," Darcy answered. He wore the expression of someone sitting on a pinecone.

Mrs. Bennet began telling everyone at the table how she had predicted a great Christmas snowfall weeks ago.

"And Elizabeth will have a healthy baby, mark my words," She said loudly to the entire table. Chatter sputtered and everyone turned and looked at her. Even Elizabeth stopped when she heard her name. Her mother was not known for her wisdom or discretion. Perhaps she was getting dotty as well.

"Thank you for your blessing, Mama," Elizabeth said cheerfully.

Fiona bent her head as she and Hugh giggled at Mrs. Bennet, barely attempting to conceal her smile. The older woman did notice, poor thing, and blinked uncomprehendingly like an owl.

"How were your travels here, Mrs. Bennet?" Darcy interjected as the food was set on his plate. Typical of Darcy to smooth things over.

Mrs. Bennet smiled again. "Very well. We left before much of the snow had fallen. Angus kept me warm on the journey," she gestured to the fat, beige-colored pug who sat wheezing upon a pillow behind her. Since her eldest three daughters had married and left the house, Mrs. Bennet had devoted herself to the pug.

"Yes, we are all glad you brought Angus again," Darcy said, and Fiona snickered again. Elizabeth glanced at her disapprovingly.

"How far did you journey to arrive here, Mrs. Bennet?" Adam asked.

"Our home is more than one hundred miles away in Hertfordshire."

Adam smiled. "Do you always take Angus with you when you travel?"

"Yes. Always," Mrs. Bennet said, pleased to be engaged in conversation. "And who are you again?"  
Again both Hugh and Fiona snickered openly at her comment.

Elizabeth spoke up. "Mama, this is our new neighbor, Adam Merriweather. He and his father, Mr. Merriweather have joined us. They have let neighboring Barnsley Park since the summer."

Mrs. Bennett nodded, but Georgianna wondered if she might ask the same question in a few more minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

During dessert, a tiny orange blur ran past the door as a footman entered, and Elizabeth immediately recognized the blur as Poppet. _Or was it Muffin? It was one of the two anyway, and she did not belong in the dining room._

"Georgiana?" Elizabeth said softly and flicked her eyes to the tiny orange ball approaching the table.

Too late. Poppet-Muffin ran past the table and under a chair against the wall.

Isabel gasped loudly. "Oh." She put her hand to her chest. "I thought that might be a rodent, which, of course, I would never expect _here_ at Pemberley."

Georgiana stood and scooped up the kitten before handing it to a frowning footman, who briskly carried it out of the room.

"That is one of our newest additions: Muffin and Poppet. They are Christmas presents for me from my dear brother," Georgiana said to the table.

"Presents that certainly do not belong in the dining room," Darcy said.

"I'm sorry. I thought I closed them in my room. One of them must have escaped," Georgiana said fretfully. "I didn't want to risk them getting let outside."

"No, they are too young for that," Elizabeth said.

"I am not fond of keeping cats in the house," Fiona said coolly, taking a long sip of her claret.

Georgiana looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Of course, but they catch mice. Cook likes to keep one in the kitchen and pantry. Not to mention several in the barn."

Fiona moved her mouth into a pink disapproving line.

"Cats are very clean. They eat rodents and insects," Adam said, and Georgiana smiled warmly at him.

Fiona made a face that indicated she felt otherwise.

"I think the animals of Pemberley have enjoyed enough attention during this meal," Darcy said.

Elizabeth knew she frowned. She had pushed him to get Georgiana the kittens, and she hoped he didn't now regret it. She worried Darcy might feel her presence at Pemberley too strongly at times. Sometimes she felt she was slowly changing Pemberley, brick by brick. Sometimes she feared he thought she—or her family rather—unleashed chaos on his formerly orderly life.

But she was so fond of Georgiana, she couldn't help indulging her. She smiled brightly at her across the table, but the girl now stared wistfully across the table to where Hugh and Fiona laughed.

The footman stepped forward and whispered something to Mr. Darcy. His expression soured, and he looked nervously to Elizabeth.

"It seems as though my groom believes the snow is coming too fast and thick for people to travel safely tonight. I'm sorry to interrupt your Christmas plans, but I will happily offer you all amenable rooms for the night," he announced to the table.

Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands together. "Snowed in! How snug!"

Mr. Bennet lifted a forkful of meat to his mouth and rolled his eyes.

* * *

"There, Christmas Eve dinner finished, and Pemberley still stands," Darcy mused as he removed his cravat in his bedchamber later. Elizabeth undressed several feet away behind a screen with the help of her maid.

"That went well, don't you think?" she called to him.

"Except for the inclusion of the animal kingdom in our dinner party."

"Oh!" Elizabeth said. "Yes, I was quite surprised to see the kitten run along the floor. I think Isabel Shire-Smith had a good shock."

Darcy chuckled to himself. "Yes, she went quite pale. Did you see her face?"

Elizabeth stepped out behind the screen in her nightgown. "I did," she said, smiling. "But I shouldn't laugh. I would have had the same reaction had I not known there were orange kittens afoot."

Darcy unbuttoned his greatshirt. "I thought for a moment she might faint into the soup."

Elizabeth thanked her maid and sent her out. "To be fair, it keeps with the Christmas Eve theme of sharing our evening with beasts."

"All we needed was a sheep and three wisemen," Darcy said.

Elizabeth smiled as she started to get into bed.

"Allow me," he said and hurried to her side to help her.

She smiled but waved him away. "I don't need help getting into bed. Not yet. Getting out, however, maybe another issue."

Elizabeth lay down, and Darcy carefully pulled the quilt up around her, his hand coming to rest on her stomach.

"May I?"

She nodded, enjoying it when Darcy put his hand or, occasionally, his ear to her burgeoning belly. "Is our young Darcy moving?"

She smiled. "Somewhat. Not more than usual. I think the baby enjoyed the mutton." Elizabeth leaned back into her pillow. "Or I did at least."

Her face softened as it did when talking of the pregnancy. She put her hand on Darcy's and moved it slightly.

"Try here," she said, moving it to where the baby usually kicked. She waited a moment. "There!"

Darcy's eyes opened wide.

"That was a strong kick. I daresay our child will be an excellent horseman. Or horsewoman," Darcy said.

"Or an exquisite dancer," Elizabeth said.

Darcy smiled at his wife. Again, he wondered how he'd gotten quite so lucky. He leaned in to kiss her.

"Do you think G. enjoyed the dinner?" Elizabeth pulled back and asked, thus ending the kiss.

He slumped a bit. He did not want to think of his sister at his moment.

"She seemed well enough."

"She and Adam Merriweather seemed to get on," Elizabeth said.

Darcy _really_ didn't want to think of Georgiana and a suitor.

"I hope not too well," Darcy said, giving up and walking to his side of the bed.

"Why? Do you not like Mr. Merriweather and his son? They seem like very fine people to me."

"They are pleasant neighbors. But you know what some people will say if she married a tradesman. Even a very wealthy one. My aunt might have an apoplexy."

Elizabeth grimaced. "I suppose, but I think that is silly. His father runs a successful business and will be knighted soon. Besides, you essentially run a business here at Pemberley."

Darcy pulled back the covers and lay down next to his wife. "If Lady Catherine could hear you now…"

"Thankfully, she was never my lodestar."

Darcy leaned over and tenderly kissed his wife. "Which may explain why I married you."

* * *

Georgiana sighed with disappointment as she readied for bed after dinner. She had no time to speak to Hugh, and he seemed more interested in Fiona than her afterward. She also wasn't impressed that he and Fiona had giggled at Mrs. Bennet so much during dinner. Bad form, as her brother would say.

She looked under her bed, the place the kittens seemed to favor. Oddly, no tiny orange kittens galloped toward her the way they usually did.

"Tabitha, have you seen the kittens?" Georgiana asked her maid as she helped her undress and brush out her hair. "Do you know if anyone left my door open?"

Tabitha shook her head. "No, miss. But Jenny came through with the laundry, and she may have had the door open as she set your clothes in your wardrobe."

That made sense. Jenny may not have known the kittens were in the room. After Tabitha left, Georgiana wrapped a robe over her chemise and stepped into her slippers. Likely the kittens were somewhere down the hall. They usually got distracted and played in new environments.

Georgiana walked quietly down the hallway, trying not to creak on the wooden floor. It was late enough that their guests had gone to bed and she didn't want to wake anyone. The snow was heavier than expected and nearly everyone at dinner had been put up for the evening at Pemberley. She wondered for a moment which room Hugh was in.

She saw no kittens as she crept down the empty hall.

She leaned over the railway and scanned the dark, cavernous space below. She heard something move downstairs and peered into the dark to see. After a moment, she padded down the stairs to Pemberley's wide entryway. A sound came from around the corner in the kitchen. Had someone mistakenly put the kittens in there? She eased the kitchen door open.

Someone was there.

She nearly leapt in fear at the tall, dark shadow standing in the corner, but quickly lit a taper and saw it was Adam Merriweather, also standing in a too-short robe, drinking a glass of milk.

"Miss Darcy! You startled me," he exclaimed and tried to pull his robe around himself. He glanced around to see if she was alone.

"_You_ startled me," she shot back. "What are you doing in the kitchen?"  
He held his glass up. "Drinking milk," he said.

Georgiana rolled her eyes. "I can see that. I meant _why_ are you down here, drinking our milk?"

"I didn't realize it was _your_ milk," Adam said, smiling, and shrugged. "It helps me sleep."

Georgiana exhaled. "Well, not my milk—" She stopped, paused and started again. She sounded as irritated as her brother. Perhaps the disposition was congenital. Why did Adam irritate her so? "Have you seen either of the two orange kittens down here?"

"No, but I haven't been down here very long. I did hear something as I came downstairs."

Georgiana looked around and, seeing nothing, decided that perhaps bait would help.

"Maybe a saucer of milk would bring them out," he said.

She nodded. He poured some onto a saucer and handed it to her. His shoulders were very broad, she noticed.  
"Perhaps some chicken?" He held up a drumstick with a bite mark in his other hand. For some reason, this annoyed her further.

"So you are not only drinking our milk, you are eating our food?"

He smiled, clearly not embarrassed, and continued chewing. "And some mutton. I didn't think anyone would mind," he said.

Georgiana walked to him and took some of the chicken out of his hand, pulling off the greasy skin, the part she knew cats liked best.

Adam nodded. "Place some on the ground, and we can hide and see if they come out."

Georgiana looked sharply at him. _We?_ She wasn't sure how _her_ goal became _his_ too, but she just sighed. Maybe the two of them would find the kittens faster, and she could return to bed before she was discovered in the kitchen talking to a young man in her nightclothes.

She set the chicken down on the kitchen floor, and they both stood behind a corner and watched.

"Do you think this will take long?" Adam whispered, but it was a man's whisper, which was maddeningly loud, as though he'd never truly had to be quiet.

"Shhh. It may if you keep talking," she hissed back. That wasn't very nice, she told herself, particularly for Christmas. "One is very skittish. We'll need to be quiet to have her come out."

Behind her, Adam was silent, but she could feel him standing near her and hear his breathing. Despite the coolness of the deserted kitchen, she felt heat coming from him. Why couldn't it have been Hugh to come down here for milk instead of Adam? Suddenly, she was very aware of him.

A small shadow ran across the floor in front of them. It grabbed the chicken and gobbled it down. He touched her arm excitedly.

"There! Did you see that?"

As soon as he spoke, the shadow bolted out of sight.

"Drat!" he said loudly, startling Georgiana, who turned to look at him. His face opened in a wide smile. She noticed how his dark lashes were in the dim light. It was not a bad face, she thought.

But it was not Hugh's.

Something rustled nearby.

They both turned to the sound, peering into the darkness.

Adam started to say something.

"Shhh," Georgiana whispered. Someone really needed to teach him how to whisper properly.

They heard soft crunching, as though the kitten were eating something.

Across the vast marble black and white entryway floor, the front door handle rattled. Georgiana held her breath. They were far enough away that they wouldn't be seen in the dark. That was more than the wind. Was someone trying to get inside?

"Someone's coming inside," Adam said, his voice low and soft. He pulled Georgiana back behind a wall as the front door opened. Cold wind whistled inside the house.

Georgiana's heart pounded in her throat. Was it an intruder?

From around the wall, came a soft female voice, "Oh! Blast the wind."

Georgiana recognized the voice immediately. It was Mrs. Reynolds, coming in from outside.

"It's the housekeeper," she said to Adam.

She waited to hear the door close, but heard only the wind whistle. Finally she peeked around the corner.

Mrs. Reynolds shook the snow from her coat and struggled to push the door closed.

Above Georgiana, Adam looked too.

She saw it from the lantern Mrs. Reynolds held.

A tiny kitten-shaped shadow darted behind Mrs. Reynolds.

"Muffin," Georgiana said quietly. She felt Adam stiffen behind her.

Mrs. Reynolds got behind the door to use her body to close it against the strong wind.

Just as the door slammed shut, she saw the kitten run to the door and dart outside.

Georgiana's hand covered her mouth.

Adam's hand squeezed her arm, but somehow she stayed silent.  
"As soon as she leaves, I'll run out and fetch her," he said quietly.

Georgiana nodded, still horrified. The tiny cat was outside!

_Maybe all would be well. Adam Merriweather will be able to catch her. _

She swallowed, still shaking.

For the first time, she was grateful Adam was here with her.

* * *

Mrs. Reynolds shook out her coat, taking her time moving away from the door.

Georgiana wanted to scream, but could only stay still and silent, wondering how long a kitten's tiny body could possibly stay warm in the cold.

If Adam got her immediately, she would be all right, Georgiana told herself.

Finally Mrs. Reynolds removed her coat and moved away from the front door. Georgiana and Adam waited as she bustled out of the entryway.

"Stay here," he said, and for once she was glad not to move.

As soon as she was gone, Adam moved to the door. He opened it as quietly as he could, wincing as it squeaked, and shut it behind him.

Georgiana held her breath. She realized she was sweating despite the chill in the air.

If the kitten died or got sick, she'd never forgive herself. She banished the thought from her head. She would warm it up, put a hot water bottle under the blanket with it. She mentally listed all the items she'd need.

Still, she waited.

What was taking him so long? She had no idea the amount of time that had passed. Was it seconds or minutes? It felt like an hour.

Georgiana crept to the closest window and tried to look outside, but only saw lashings of ice and wet spreading across the window glass. Finally she grabbed Mrs. Reynolds's coat from the cloak tree and wrapped it around yourself.

As she opened the door, ice struck her face, stinging it. She let her eyes adjust to the dim white just for a moment and looked around for Adam's tall form.

"Adam!" she called above the swirling wind.

_ Where was he? Where was the kitten? _

She heard a sound and looked toward the side of Pemberley's stone facade. She took a few steps forward, the wind biting her skin.

Finally she saw Adam crouched next to a shrub near the wall.

"Adam," she said as she scurried to him. Her slippers sank into the wet snow.

He looked up and blinked at her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Trying to find you. And Muffin."

"Muffin's in the shrub," he gestured to the thick, squat bush next to the facade. "I'm trying to catch her." Even now, he seemed unruffled and calm, almost as if he were enjoying this. She had never seen a man this way in a crisis. Her brother was all dark moods and terse comments.

Georgiana pushed past him and bent down, sure she would have better luck catching her.

"Muffin, come out, little girl," she coaxed. She looked and saw no sign of the kitten. "Are you sure she's there?"

"Indeed, she's there," Adam said, the wind whipping his hair around his face. "She gave me a good scratch as she leapt into it," he said dramatically and looked at his arm.

Despite the prickling, scratching branches, she moved her hand under the brush, feeling for the fluff of fur. "Muffin?"

She thought she heard a tiny squeak.

"Muffin…"

She heard it again. A sad, pathetic little squeak of a cry. She took a step toward the sound, her feet nearly catching on the bush. She stumbled, but Adam's hand darted out and righted at her at the last moment.

"Thank you."

_Maybe it wasn't so bad to have him around._

Georgiana turned her head to listen to again. The squeak came from a small space between the walls of Pemberley and the bush. She squeezed into the space, crouching down, her hands skimming the snow and branches on the ground.

_Fur_.

She felt soft, warm, wonderful fur. Her heart leapt.

She reached farther and managed to grasp the tiny body, plucking the kitten to her chest inside the coat. Muffin squeaked again.

"I have her!" Georgiana called back to Adam triumphantly, cradling the kitten to her chest.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" He leaned toward her, craning his long neck to see the tiny kitten, and gently bumped her head with his. "Ouch!" He touched where his head met hers, and they both laughed.

"We need to get inside immediately," he said over the wind.

Georgiana nodded and pulled the coat more tightly over the kitten, feeling her shiver.


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth woke with a start, but couldn't identify what woke her.

She glanced around the dark room and immediately put a hand to her rounded stomach. She felt well, more tired, and slower than usual, but it wasn't the baby that roused her.

She had the distinct impression she had been woken by a sound.

She listened to the sleeting rain tap the windows. Darcy snored gently next to her, and she heard the faint tick of the grandfather clock in the hall, but nothing else.

She was wide awake.

Silently, she rose from the bed and wrapped her robe around her, careful not to wake her husband. Fortunately, he was a sound sleeper. He rolled over and snored harder.

In the hall, she lit a taper for light and decided to seek some water.

She sighed, feeling especially big right now as she tried to pull her robe around her stomach. Unfortunately, it didn't fit anymore. Nothing fit anymore. She felt like a colossus. Hopefully, she wouldn't encounter any guests at this hour.

She padded down the hall and toward Georgiana's room. Oddly, the door was slightly open and a dim candle burned low on the table. Georgiana was not in her bed, and it was still made. One of the kittens curled on the bed raised its head when it saw Elizabeth and meowed at her.

_That's odd._ Why would Georgiana be out of bed? Elizabeth stood in the doorway, wondering what to do. She didn't want to rouse Darcy and make him worry, but she also felt unease roil through her. It was unlike Georgiana to do anything untoward.

Then she remembered Wickham.

Elizabeth walked to the other end of the hall, but saw no hint of Georgiana. She stepped down the stairs and went to the next floor where most of male guests slept. The room she had assigned for Adam Merriweather was slightly open as well. She pushed the wood door open a few more inches.

His bed was unmade and his room was empty too.

Elizabeth felt a wave of worry. Georgiana and Adam both not in their rooms? Could she and Adam Merriweather be hidden away somewhere, talking or more? She swallowed uneasily.

She knew Georgiana had been deeply hurt by Wickham's fickle attentions and then reinjured when he'd eloped with her sister Lydia last year, but she didn't think she could be vulnerable to a young man again so easily.

Elizabeth stepped carefully down the stairs as quickly as she could. She had to find Georgiana and separate her from Mr. Merriweather before Darcy could find out.

_If they were together._

Oh, she was foolish. Of course they were together, somewhere in the house. What else would two young people be doing together? She held her arm around her belly and did her best to hurry down the hall.

* * *

Georgiana held the kitten close and waited for Adam to open the front door. He stood in front of her, playing with the doorknob as she grew impatient. Sleet stung her face, and she pulled the coat up so the kitten was covered.

"Oh, please open the door," she said, shivering.

Adam fumbled for a moment longer. "Blimey! I can't. It's locked."

"Locked? How can it be locked? We just came through it!"

He turned to her, and his shoulders slumped dejectedly. "It's locked. Someone locked the door."

Georgiana stepped up and tried to turn the door knob. Indeed, it would not turn. She could not turn the doorknob well and hold the kitten at the same time. She passed the kitten to Adam.

"Who would have locked it?"

"The housekeeper?" Adam said and breathed on the kitten to warm it. He looked up at Pemberley's imposing facade. Then he handed it back to Georgiana.

"Stay here, out of the wind," he said and walked out, away from the house, looking up at the windows as snow pelted him. He wasn't even wearing a coat.

"Is there anyone's window at which we could lob pebbles?" Adam asked as he jogged back to her.

"Lob pebbles?"

"To wake them. Have you never snuck outside before? No, I suppose you haven't. Is there someone you can trust to let us in quietly without waking everyone else?"

Elizabeth was the first name that came to her.

"Mrs. Darcy," she said. "But of course Mr. Darcy's there too."

Adam shook his head. "Anyone else?"

Georgiana tried to think, but she felt as though each flake of snow froze her brain and eroded her intellect. It was too cold to think.

"A trusted cousin? Anyone?" Adam asked.

Georgiana felt the kitten's body shiver, and tears of frustration pricked her eyes. "I'm not even sure who is in which room." She hugged the kitten to herself. "What about your father?"

Adam shook his head. "They put us in separate rooms. I'm not sure which window is his. That's not something I want to guess at."

Georgiana nodded. If they were caught outside in their nightclothes, even with the excuse of the kitten, both their families would be scandalized. Particularly hers. She couldn't do that to her brother after all he'd done to help her after Wickham.

She felt the kitten shiver against her chest.

"Oh, the kitten is shivering!" The dam of frustration within her burst and hot tears fell down her face, mixing with the snow.

Adam turned back and saw her tears.

"No, don't cry. It will be all right." He rubbed his warm hands on her shoulders. "How is the tiny runaway?"

Georgiana choked out a sob. "We have to get her inside."

"May I see her?" Adam looked at her seriously.

Georgiana nodded, noticing how dark his eyes were, and opened the top of her coat so the kitten's orange head barely peeked out. He gently stroked her head twice and carefully closed up her coat. He was surprisingly gentle for such a large man.

"We have two choices," he said. "We can knock on the door and allow the repercussions, or stand here and hope the door opens soon. What will your brother do to me if we are caught?"

Georgiana pictured Darcy's unsmiling face. "If you're lucky, he might _only_ chase you away with a rifle."

He nodded as if considering it. "That's not too bad."

"You'll have to walk back to your home. In the blizzard. In your nightclothes. And I shall never be let out of my bedroom again."

Adam smiled_. _He actually seemed to find this all amusing. "Is he a good shot?"

"One of the best."

"Then I am doomed, aren't I? Well, at least I died heroically. Saving a kitten. And a damsel in distress."

Georgiana's lips curved up in a smile. Their situation was humorous. Or it would be if it weren't real. She was going to tell him she didn't need saving, but she realized quite how ridiculous that sounded in her position. She did need saving. Immediately. They both did.

"Your death wouldn't entirely be in vain," she said.

"That is a relief." He moved closer to her and looked at her again.

"What about the other girls at the dinner party?" Adam asked. "Do you think one of them would let us in?"

She immediately pictured Fiona giggling with Hugh and frowned. "Perhaps, but not without telling everyone."

Adam pushed back his hair in the wind and frowned. "I thought they were your friends."

Georgiana shrugged. It was the only way she could think to describe her relationship to the other girls. Georgiana was one of the richest girl in the county and sometimes other girls were envious of her new dresses and pianofortes. Also she never felt smart enough for London society.

Adam cleared his throat.

"How is she?"

Georgiana looked up into his dark eyes and, suddenly shy, glanced down.

"Still shivering, I'm afraid."

Adam glanced around, as if to make sure no one else was around.

"There is one solution, but…" He stopped there.

"But what?"

"It will seem improper."

She looked at him, waiting for him to finish. He cleared his throat. Again.

"We could huddle together to stay warm."

Something exciting surged through Georgiana's veins. She took in Adam's tall, broad frame. _He did look like he'd be warm._

"How do you mean?"

He looked very serious. "I read an account of mountain climbers who were trapped in a storm. They were able to stay alive because they huddled together. It kept their bodies warm."

"But they were all men," she said.

"Yes," Adam said, as though that were obvious.

Georgiana considered standing and freezing or waking up the entire house to get in. The kitten's small body shivered again. She had no choice.

"Very well," she said. "How do we proceed?"

Adam stepped to her. "We need to get close. I apologize in advance for any appearance of impropriety."

Georgiana shook her head. "This is a matter of feline life or death."

Adam nodded and took another step until he was close enough to touch. She hadn't been this close to a man since Wickham. He smelled fresh and warm, like spice and leather, whereas Wickham had often smelled a bit pickled, like old wine.

Adam was looking anywhere but Georgiana's face. "I'm going to put my arms around your arms to warm you."

Georgiana nodded, and her heart beat faster. She was glad she had put on Mrs. Reynolds's coat and that it provided a layer between him and her thin nightdress. His arms, warm and big, curled around her._ Good lord, he was warm_. Heat radiated off him like a blazing hearth. It felt wonderful. She leaned into the warmth tumbling off him and breathed him in.

"Is this all right?" Adam asked.

Georgiana paused, thought for a moment, and nodded. It was actually quite nice.

Georgiana pulled back the opening of her coat so that she could see the kitten, whose green eyes blinked at her.

"Still shivering."

Adam nodded and moved a few inches closer.

His eyes met hers before they both looked away. She wondered what he was feeling toward her. Did his heart skip forward, too, at being this close to her? He was always amiable, and she tried to remember why she'd ever found him annoying. Was it because he was friendly and she had compared him to Hugh, who was both proud and moody?

She was pelted by sleet and stood in her nightclothes improperly close to Adam Merriweather. And worse yet, she enjoyed it.

Hugh was probably asleep upstairs in one of the guestrooms. Not long ago, she would have wished she was trapped outside with Hugh. She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore.

Adam's arm brushed something in her coat pocket that clinked.

"What is that?"

Adam stretched his arm into the pocket of the coat Georgiana wore and pulled out a small silver flask.

"This is the housekeeper's coat?"

Georgiana nodded.

Adam unscrewed the top and sniffed it, his eyes widening. "Brandy!" His lips curled up in a half smile. "Good quality too."

"In Mrs. Reynolds's coat?"

"Can't really blame her in this weather. Especially if she has to go outside."

The flask flashed in the dim light as he turned it to sip.

"What are you doing?"

He wiped his mouth. "Taking a dram. If ever there were a time for it..."

He had a point, she supposed.

He offered her the flask. "It will warm you."

Georgiana stood still. She hadn't drunk brandy before. But she was terribly cold. She also didn't want to seem to be missish. She took the flask and put it to her lips. It smelled strong and foreign. Frankly, it smelled like a man. The liquid burned down her throat but settled into a warm ball in her center.

She swallowed more, hoping the warmth would grow.

Georgiana handed the flask back to Adam, who took another sip.

After a moment, an ease slipped into her limbs. It was as though the cold was muted somehow. She could still feel it, but it was further away. Or maybe it was Adam's warm body. She leaned into the warmth and looked up at him.

He was looking down at her uncertainly. He did have soft-looking lips. She realized she couldn't remember what Hugh's lips were like. But Adam's looked sweet, as though they may taste like cake.

_That's ridiculous. No one tasted like cake._

Georgiana had the crazy notion to taste his lips.

It was the brandy. It was making her bold and adventurous. She felt very clever and pleased with herself. She could quickly kiss him and see if he tasted like cake. Who would know? Except him.

Despite his height, she could tell he was waiting for her. He exhaled, and she noticed his breath trembled.

_Was he nervous? _

Part of her wanted to laugh that someone so tall and masculine could be scared of her.

"Why don't I take the kitten? I think I must give off more heat than your small frame."

Georgiana hesitated, embarrassed by his comment about her body. But he did have a point. She pulled the kitten from her chest, and Adam gingerly took her and stuck her in his shirt.

He had to remove his arms from her to take the kitten, and Georgiana missed the warmth. However, it was quite charming to see a large man nestling a small cat under his chin. The kitten turned to his face and playfully swiped his chin with her paw.

"Miss, I must protest this behavior," Adam said. Georgiana couldn't help but smile along with him.

The kitten squirmed and turned its head to try to bite Adam's chin, but its jaws wouldn't open that widely.

"I know your ways: look innocent yet attempt murder," he said to the kitten and opened and closed his jaw quickly so the kitten was mesmerized. "I shall rechristen you Miss Murderbritches."

Georgiana couldn't help but laugh. She had never seen someone, let alone a man, make such an effort to engage a kitten. She had also never seen someone stay so pleasant and calm during an otherwise terrible experience. Even being trapped outside was enjoyable with Adam.

The kitten gave up and hung on his shirt, her front legs dangling out but most of her body tucked inside Adam's nightshirt.

"Have you had enough? Are you finally fatigued?" Georgiana realized he wasn't playing with the kitten simply to please her. He genuinely enjoyed the little creature. He was a kind man to stand outside in the snow to warm a kitten and not being vexed about it. She wondered how many other men would do likewise.

"Sorry, little one, must go back to warming the lady," Adam said, and his arms eased back around her. "Have you frozen yet?"

His eyes met hers and held them. Another wave of warmth swept through her. He gently tipped the flask to his lips and passed it to her.

She sipped and took the flask from her lips.

"You've spilled," Adam said quietly, raising his large hand to wipe the amber liquid from her chin. She froze when he touched her. Their mouths were inches apart. She leaned toward him, closing her eyes.

His lips touched hers. Warm and soft. Sweet.

Better than cake.

Their lips parted, but their foreheads touched. His lips trembled.

"Why are you shaking? Are you cold?"

He smiled and placed a warm hand on her face. "No, I'm pleased," he said.

Just below them, the kitten squeaked.

Adam smiled at Georgiana. "Muffin seems to disapprove."

"Perhaps she's a spy hired by my brother," Georgiana said.

"Don't say that. Now I'm worried."

Adam looked down at her. "I do have something to confess," he said. "Before going to dinner last night, I moved your name card so you'd be next to me at the dinner table."

Georgiana laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Do you hate me?" he looked at her earnestly.

She shook her head and smiled. "I think I can forgive you."


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth heard a sound. She paused her slippered foot mid-stride on the oak floor, cocked her head, and listened again.

It almost sounded like muffled voices. She stood still, listening.

Then nothing.

Maybe she had imagined it. Her body felt so foreign these days. She sometimes wondered if her condition could somehow affect her other senses.

She left the kitchen and had started back up the stairs when she heard it again. Or she thought she did.

_A male and female voice._

She turned toward the sound.

_Downstairs_.

It was coming from near the entryway. But she saw no one there as she descended the stairs.

Then, _something_. A soft thudding noise.

Like someone tapping the snow off their shoes.

Coming from outside.

She walked onto the entryway, pleased no one else was here.

Elizabeth peered out a window and startled. Someone tall was outside the front door.

She moved noiselessly to the door and pressed her ear against it.

Elizabeth paused and wondered for a moment if she should wake up Darcy. Then she heard what could only be a soft female voice: Georgiana. She feared Darcy's reaction to Georgiana's tryst more than she did a stranger behind the door. She hoped she was not catching them at an inopportune moment. Glancing around to make sure she was still alone, she pulled back the lock and opened the door.

Cold wind blew in, almost extinguishing her candle, and Elizabeth automatically shut her eyes against it. So she didn't immediately see Georgiana wrapped in Adam's tall, lean frame. But then, her eyes opened, and Adam's form came into view. And there in his arms was Georgiana. In her nightclothes! Both of them. The girl leapt apart from him.

"Elizabeth!" she said, quite astounded.

"Mrs. Darcy," Adam said, his voice becoming oddly high.

"Mr. Merriweather! Georgiana! What are you doing out here? Get inside immediately!"

Elizabeth pulled the girl inside, allowing Adam to follow. She closed the door and hoped no one had heard or would come down and investigate.

"This is quite unexpected!" Elizabeth looked from Georgiana to Adam and pulled her robe around her stomach as much as she could.

They each stared in shock at each other for a moment.

"This is entirely my fault," Adam said, stepping forward, pulling Elizabeth's gaze away from Georgiana.

"Somehow I think not."

Elizabeth was so angry so couldn't get her mouth to form more words. After the debacle with Wickham, how could G. do this? At Pemberley's front door, no less!

Then she noticed the ice glazed in Georgiana's and Adam's hair and eyelashes. She touched G.'s brittle, partially frozen hair.

"How long were you outside?"

Georgiana's eyes brimmed with fresh tears.

"Perhaps half of an hour," Adam responded quietly. At least he had the manners to appear embarrassed. "We were trying to save _her_." Adam opened the collar of his shirt, and a tiny, orange head poked out and cried.

Elizabeth's mouth fell open.

"What?"

"The kitten ran outside, and we went to get her and were locked outside," Georgiana said, eyes still downcast.

Elizabeth looked from him to Georgiana. "But why were you together in your nightclothes?"

"I went to the kitchen, to eat," Adam said, a red blush spreading across his face. "The kitten ran into the kitchen and Georgiana tried to catch her."

Elizabeth pursed her lips. "And how did she get outside?"

"Mrs. Reynolds came inside moments before. I threw on her coat to run outside."

Elizabeth eyed the damp coat on her shoulders.

"We huddled in the door to keep the kitten warm, Mrs. Darcy," Adam said, his eyes cast downward.

She looked at Georgiana's quivering lip and Adam's snow-covered frame.

"Oh, I don't know what to think! But come inside, warm up!" She brushed snow off Adam's shoulders until her belly brushed against his arm. Gads, none of them were fit to be in public. "Let's get you both inside before William sees or hears us." She paused. "Is the kitten all right?"

Georgiana nodded, a tear streaking down her cheek.

"Before William hears _what_?"

All three of them jumped in surprise at Darcy's unexpected voice.

Elizabeth turned and saw her husband standing in his neatly tied robe and slippers. Even at his hour, he was immaculate. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. How would they explain this?

"My dear, what are you doing out of bed? Is everything well?" Darcy asked, looking worryingly at his wife.

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at him. "I'm quite well. Georgiana was good enough to accompany me for a glass of barley water. She was retrieving an escaped kitten."

Darcy's gaze moved to Adam, his eyes taking in his damp head.

"He helped me retrieve the kitten," Georgiana said, and his eyes narrowed at Adam.

Darcy's dour expression didn't change.

"Why is _he_ a party to this?"

Elizabeth uncharacteristically put her hands to her stomach to display her condition. "Mr. Merriweather was good enough to help us capture the cat," she said and smiled. "You know I can't reach down anymore. Thank you again, Mr. Merriweather! Now I am tired. Fitzwilliam, will you accompany me to my bed chamber?"

"Pleasure to be of service, Mrs. Darcy," Adam said.

Darcy's eyes flicked from his wife to Adam suspiciously. He didn't like what he had encountered, but he extended his arm to Elizabeth.

"I trust we all are returning to our respective bed chambers," he said.

"Of course," Elizabeth said calmly and took her husband's arm, but not before shooting Georgiana and Adam a scorching look.

* * *

Back in their bed chamber, Darcy helped Elizabeth onto her side of the bed.

"Now, are you going to tell me what was going on, or do I have to guess?" he asked, looking very serious.

Elizabeth smiled at her husband as she lifted her legs onto the bed.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said innocently.

Suddenly, she felt something pull deep inside herself and burning in her back. It made her catch her breath. _Oh. Something was happening._

She swung her legs back out of the bed and stood up as quickly as she could

"Now what on earth are you doing?" Darcy asked testily.

Elizabeth's hands reflexively went to her stomach. She looked up from her hands to Darcy's gaze.

"Oh, oh. William."

He stood absolutely still for a moment before he scrambled to her side.

"You mean?" He gestured to her midsection.

She nodded, feeling a warm trickle down her legs.

"Elizabeth!"

"I'm all right. Why don't we move to my bed chamber? It has been set aside for this occasion."

He nodded quickly and let his wife place her arm on his shoulder.

"Shall I carry you?"

"No, I'm perfectly capable of walking. Will you rouse Harriet?" she said of her lady's maid.

"Of course. Shall I run?" Darcy's face had a sheen of pale sweat.

Elizabeth smiled and placed a palm on her husband's excited face. "Not at all. The physician said it may take a while. Days even."

He nodded, but still rushed off. As he passed Georgiana's door, he knocked on it impatiently. "Georgiana! Will you wake Harriet?" Further down the hall, Adam, who hadn't yet reached his room, saw the commotion and came back quickly.

"How may I help?" he asked earnestly.

Darcy paused and frowned.

"Shall I ride out and fetch the physician?" Adam asked.

Darcy said nothing, his mouth twisting.

"Please let me be of service," Adam said.

Darcy barely had time to nod before Adam hurried in the direction of his room.

Georgiana quickly changed into a dry dress and warm shawl and caught up to Darcy and Elizabeth as he shuffled with his wife on his arm.

"I can walk," Elizabeth said to her husband. The only sign she was in any distress was that one hand was on her back.

"Are you—? Is it the baby?" Georgiana said. Her brother nodded once, briefly, a sign he was anxious. She knew the look well.

She saw Adam, also now dressed, striding purposefully down the stairs ahead of them. He looked quite distinguished in his greatcoat, boots, and hat. She wondered if he would look back at her in recognition of what they shared huddled outside, but he simply walked out the door, following a footman, and closed it behind him. She felt a pang of disappointment, but then told herself she was being silly. It was only Adam Merriweather after all. It wasn't as though it were Hugh. She realized she hadn't thought of Hugh in a while.

But now, they must see to Elizabeth. She climbed the stairs to the servants' quarters and rapped gently on Harriet's door. It opened on the first knock.

"Yes, miss?" Harriet wore a white nightdress. She looked like she hadn't been sleeping either.

"Mrs. Darcy asked for your service. I think it may be time to begin Mrs. Darcy's lying-in," Georgiana said. Without a word, Harriet's eyes widened, and she nodded and closed her door. In what seemed like only a few moments, she opened it again, now wearing a day dress.

"I keep it by the door for when Mrs. Darcy…" she said and paused meaningfully. Georgiana nodded. She needed to remind her brother to give her a generous Christmas gift.

Georgiana and the maid walked down the hall. She knew Harriet had helped with births in the village before. Despite their differences in stations, they were similar in age, but Georgiana felt foolish and unknowledgeable around her.

"Is Mrs. Darcy comfortable?" Harriet asked as she tucked her hair under her cap.

"Yes, I believe so. I've not witnessed a birth before. I don't know what to expect."

"Usually nature does most of the work," Harriet said and smiled shyly at Georgiana.

She was glad someone had experience with this, as she felt herself completely ignorant about many things.

Three hours later, Elizabeth walked slowly down the hall. Georgiana and Darcy stood behind her, watching. She stopped and touched the wall for support as a contraction tightened momentarily, but she knew they were still far apart and fairly mild.

Darcy, on the other hand, looked as though he might be ill. His face tensed as he watched his wife experience another wave of pain.

"Would you like to lie down?" he said for at least the third time.

Elizabeth exhaled as the pain diminished and straightened up.

"No, I am all right," she said. The pain ebbed, and she drew in a deep breath. Darcy had removed his coat, and his cravat hung loosely around his neck. Elizabeth smiled at his worried, handsome face. She knew she would be confined to her bed chamber soon and he would wait outside, and she wanted to forestall that as long as she could.

"Walking eases the pain," Elizabeth said, entering her chamber.

"Blast, where's the bloody physician?" Darcy said quietly.

Elizabeth turned back to him. "Have you summoned the physician?" She told him she thought it wasn't necessary yet.

"Adam Merriweather has ridden to fetch him."

Elizabeth slumped. "You sent him out in this weather? Oh, Darcy, why?"

Darcy glanced toward the window and looked chastened. "He offered to go."

Elizabeth sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hand. "Of course he offered. It's because..."

She stopped talking and looked at Georgiana and Harriet as they entered the room.

"It may be many hours yet. You should not have made him go."

Darcy leaned against a chair and pouted. "I did not _make_ him. I didn't put a pistol to his head."

Then he went to Elizabeth and rubbed her shoulders. "Do not be mad, my love. Please don't worry about him. Adam is a hearty lad. I'll send a groom after him if he hasn't returned soon. Do not deplete your strength."

Elizabeth frowned, walking slowly around the room. The pain, although not bad yet, had drained her. Harriet brought her a cup of barley water.

* * *

The horse Adam rode—a fine, tall black gelding, borrowed from Darcy—moved easily through the stinging sleet. Adam was grateful for the warmth coming off the horse's glossy body. The woods around Pemberley were dark and eerily muted by the snowfall. Thick snowflakes fell, creating a whispering _slush_ as they landed. On the ground, snow glowed blue against the dark trees. Despite the cold, he would have liked to show this scene to Georgiana. In his mind, he saw her blue-gray eyes looking up at him on the steps. He thought of her with the kitten and wondered how she felt when they huddled together on the front step.

_Might she have feelings for him?_

She's previously seemed distracted when he'd seen her, turning her attention to the others in the room, but then the few times they were together were either at assembly balls or in a friend's sitting room, and one could hardly blame her.

Adam found her to be exquisite the first time he met her, like a delicate doll come to life. His eyes were always drawn to her when she was in the room. How was it this magnificent creature had not been taken? Might he dare to hope she could return his affection? She kissed him back on the steps, her lips as soft as a teacake. But perhaps she was merely caught in the moment—and freezing—so that she'd have kissed nearly any warm thing that was there.

Certainly, he wasn't an obvious choice for her. The fact that his father was a tradesman complicated things. But his family was rich. Adam hoped that when she saw how much he loved her and how well he would take care of her, she would see what a good choice he was. Certainly, he made a better choice than the unlicked cub of a man Hugh Devereaux, who pranced about in his fine frocks and carriages when everyone knew his family had no money.

He blew onto his hands to warm them and wondered how Mrs. Darcy was faring. He had another mile to go before he'd arrive at the village where the physician resided. He somehow had to get there without becoming an icicle. He had promised Mr. Darcy he would, and frankly, he feared him more than he did the cold weather. He didn't want to disappoint him, and he particularly wanted to please Georgiana. Of course, he wanted Mrs. Darcy to be well too.

Adam urged his horse to move more quickly through the dark wood.

* * *

Darcy watched his wife lean back on the love seat, close her eyes, and grimace, her lovely face lost in her pain. Her labor was becoming more difficult, and he winced sympathetically, wishing he could take the burden for her.

"My darling?" he said after a moment as Elizabeth opened her eyes again. A fine sheen of perspiration glistened on her face and neck.

Her eyes stared at something far away and then found his gaze again.

"Was that terrible?"

She shook her head and smiled weakly. "Not so bad." She exhaled and reached for more barley water.

He thought she may be downplaying her pain and he tried to return her smile. But a pleasant expression was hard to come by for him even under the best circumstances. Her hand, gripped in his, loosened as he brought the cup to her lips.

An older maid insisted on stoking the fire and shutting all the windows, despite the languid air of the room.

"Must we shut out all the fresh air?" Darcy asked.

"Labor needs warm quiet air," the maid said and turned blew out a candle in the window before leaving the room.

Darcy was not sure he agreed, but he said nothing. He knew he would be asked to leave the room soon.

"How is she, sir?" Harriet asked.

"The pain is increasing," Darcy said. "Shall I open the shutters?"

Harriet placed a cloth on Elizabeth's forehead and gazed down at her. "Aye. Old midwives kept birthing rooms warm and dark. But some doctors now recommend fresh air. Likely, it matters not, but for the mother's comfort."

Harriet stood up and opened the shutters nearest to them. Darcy glanced at the snow still falling in the darkness. He hated how powerless he felt at the moment.

"Darling, would you like another pillow?" He picked up a ridiculously ruffled yellow one off another chair to offer to her.

Elizabeth sipped more barley water and shook her head. She sighed softly and leaned back, her eyes now focused and her face smoothed.

"That is a fine pillow, and I should only be using the older, plain ones," she said and smiled at her husband's lack of domestic knowledge.

"Aye," Harriet said, taking the yellow pillow from Darcy and handing him a plain off-white one. Elizabeth smiled at Harriet and sat up more.

"Has Adam returned?" Elizabeth asked.

Darcy, wishing he had not mentioned Adam's journey to Elizabeth, lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. Briefly he shook his head.

"I daresay I may not need a physician," Elizabeth said.

"Perhaps it's for me," Darcy said, forcing a smile. "I may need one to get through this day." He said nothing more as her face contorted with discomfort.


	5. Chapter 5

Georgiana's heart beat faster as her brother tended to Elizabeth lying on the love seat. Darcy held her hand in his, leaning toward her and talking quietly. She wanted him to take away Elizabeth's frightening pain and have her and the baby be well. She always looked to Darcy to find a solution to every other problem they'd encountered. She was beginning to realize it might not be that simple.

Georgiana hung back by Harriet, helping her fold linens and place them near the delivery area.

"Is the physician coming?" Harriet asked.

"Yes, Mr. Merriweather rode out to get him."

Harriet nodded, not taking her eyes from Elizabeth.

"In this storm?"

Georgiana nodded, glancing out the window to watch the snowflakes fall. She knew he had done it at least in part for her, and she was both grateful and bewildered. She now thought back on being locked outside with him as an adventure, one she enjoyed more than she thought. She had been worried about the kitten to be sure, but she also found herself enjoying being that close to him, looking in his dark eyes, and particularly, his kiss. Remembering it now made her heart pound again.

She watched Darcy holding tightly to Elizabeth's hand and realized that love was beyond finding a person amiable or attractive; it also meant supporting the other during difficulty, as Darcy was now with Elizabeth. She inhaled the smell of camphor and scent of freshly washed linens that Harriet set on a nearby table. When—no, if she married—she needed to find a man who loved her the way William did Elizabeth. If she ever underwent childbirth, she wanted a husband who sat with her holding her hand through the pain, at least as long as he was allowed. Somehow, she could not imagine Hugh Devereaux removing his fancy coat and sitting in a hot, still room holding a woman's hand.

Harriet finished folding the linens and smoothed them out.  
"It's nearly time," she said.

Georgiana looked confused. "Time for what?"

"Time for Mr. Darcy to wait outside."

Just then Mrs. Reynolds opened the door to announce that Adam and the physician had finally arrived.

"Thank Christ," Darcy murmured and kissed his wife's hand.

* * *

Darcy lifted Elizabeth's hand and heartily kissed it. He looked greatly relieved.

He placed his other hand on her forehead and smiled as another spasm of pain ignited in her midsection. She turned away from his hand and tried not to fight it as it pinched and flared along to her back. It came at her like a wave, strong at first, so intense her fists tightened under the blanket, which she hid from Darcy so he wouldn't see. It was becoming worse, bad enough to make her want to gasp or call out, but she was careful not to in front of William. She exhaled as hot pain pulled through her body, searing her. Then slowly, a little less slowly each time, it ebbed away from her like the tide.

She gulped air greedily as the pain drifted away. Darcy's eyes took in her discomfort and tried to smile at him, but her lips quivered.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, my love." Her voice sounded hoarse. She didn't want Darcy to worry more than he already was.

Harriet came to his side.

"The physician has arrived. I believe the time has come for Mr. Darcy to wait in the other room."

Elizabeth nodded, while William looked stricken.

She managed to smile. "I will be well," she said to William, but suddenly the idea that he wouldn't be next to her made her want to cry.

Somewhere, just beyond herself, she felt the wave beginning to build again. She couldn't feel it yet, but she would soon. She felt the energy of it gaining strength. She knew she had work to do, and William couldn't follow where she was going.

* * *

"Georgiana, come here and take my place by Elizabeth," William said as he stood up. He leaned down and kissed his wife one more time.

From across the room, Georgiana felt her eyes widen. Elizabeth looked so pale and limp right now, and when the pain came, the spasms were so frightening, she wasn't sure she wanted to have such close seat to the miracle of childbirth.

The physician, Dr. McBride, knocked on the door and swept into the room, still brushing snow from his shoulders. He shook Darcy's hand before bending over Mrs. Darcy carefully.

"Mrs. Darcy, how are you? Are you ready to take a pain?"

Harriet guided Darcy out of the room with two of the maids.

Elizabeth nodded. Georgiana didn't know what he meant, but then Dr. McBride made Elizabeth turn on her side while Harriet held a sheet up over Elizabeth to protect her privacy. The physician examined Mrs. Darcy's lower regions. Georgiana swallowed and averted her gaze. She did not want to experience that at all. Maybe she would never have a baby.

The indignities women went through to have a baby!

* * *

Darcy ran this hands through his hair as he walked into the room that served as the waiting area outside Elizabeth's bedchamber. Seeing Elizabeth suffer was harder than he realized, and in an odd way, he was relieved to leave. For that, he felt a stab of guilt.

Sitting in the corner, just off the fire in the hearth, was Adam Merriweather wrapped in a plaid blanket, his dark hair damp and disheveled. Darcy was flooded with guilt. Perhaps he had judged the boy too harshly upon their initial meeting. But that didn't mean he wanted to talk to him. Especially now.

"Mr. Merriweather," Darcy called out, and he looked up. "I wish to express my appreciation to you for your help today. My wife and I are indebted to you."

There, Darcy thought. He thanked him and now was free from obligation to him. Darcy was ready to turn away.

Adam blotted a handkerchief across his brow and nodded. "I am happy to be at your service." He leaned back, clearly exhausted. "May I inquire after Mrs. Darcy?"

Darcy's heart thudded at her mention. He instantly did not want to be alone.

Darcy stared down at the vase on a table he stood near. "Nature seems to be taking its course," Darcy said while he moved the vase an inch to the right.

He didn't know what else to say.

Adam nodded. His face was flushed and his cheeks ruddy from the cold. He looked paler and younger than he'd previously seemed.

Darcy paused. _Oh, damnation. _He knew what he should do.

"Would you honor me by joining me in a drink?"

Adam nodded, and Darcy poured two hearty glasses of brandy before handing him a glass.

"To the health of Mrs. Darcy and your first born," Adam said, holding his glass aloft.

"Yes, quite." Darcy winced a bit at his mention of Mrs. Darcy's condition, but he knew Adam meant well. It was very American of him to mention it. He downed his drink, and Adam followed suit.

The liquid warmth slid down Darcy's throat, comforting him.

"Oh, that is welcome," Darcy said, his shoulders relaxing. "I wish I could give some to Mrs. Darcy."

Adam smiled cheerfully. He looked so young and fresh-faced, Darcy thought. Had _he_ ever been that green? He knew he must have been, but it seemed like a long time ago.

"How old are you, Adam?"

Adam blinked.

"I am one and twenty," he said loudly and cleared his throat. Darcy could see that he made Adam nervous, and for some reason, it pleased his vanity. He poured them both more brandy and brought him another glass.

"I remember that age," he said. "There was much I didn't yet know."

They both stared silently at the fire popping in the hearth.

Adam nodded. "I've finished my university studies. I am eager to learn the ways of the world."

Darcy's mouth twitched with a small smile. The boy was so earnest. He wished his friend Charles Bingley was here to observe as well. Adam reminded him a bit of a young Bingley. Perhaps he would meet him soon enough.

"Yes, well, don't be in too much of a hurry. It will happen whether you will it or not."

Adam nodded enthusiastically, which made Darcy smile more.

"So tell me of your father's business. Do you expect to run it someday?"

He nodded, wiping his nose and pushing his dark hair from his face.

Female voices rose from Elizabeth's lying-in room, and Adam turned his head in that direction. Darcy's breath caught as he looked to the white wooden door with its gleaming brass knob, his stomach knotting.

Adam looked back to Darcy, and the older man reddened under the scrutiny. Darcy hoped he couldn't tell how nervous he was. He felt torn between hiding his reaction and the more pressing fear for his wife that surged through him. He sat on a chair near Adam.

"Have you attended births before this one?" Adam asked.

Darcy shook his head tersely.

"I'm the eldest of five siblings, who are in London with their cousins. They are all several years younger than myself."

Darcy listened but did not hear Adam's words. He heard the rhythm of his voice and irritation spiked in him as he wondered how he could prattle on while his Elizabeth was in distress, but he schooled his face not to show it.

Another voice rose. Finally Darcy stood up, his body coiled as if to strike.

Adam stood as well. "So, when I say I have been through four siblings' births and one cousin's, please know that everything seems in order," Adam said. "Noise is common during a birth. When it gets quiet, that's when you may worry."

Darcy exhaled, met his gaze, and swallowed thickly. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice cracked. "What if…?" he said. Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears.

Adam had the grace to look back to the hearth while Darcy fumbled for his handkerchief.

"Usually, I keep this on hand for a woman," he said quietly. "How many siblings did you say you have?"

"Four," Adam said and smiled gently.

Darcy smiled at him finally. "Another drink then, so I will not burst through that door?" He picked up the decanter and poured them both more brandy.

Adam nodded.

Darcy gripped his glass helplessly. "What shall we talk of? I can think of nothing. What interests do you have?"

"Tell me what Georgiana was like as a child."

Darcy's mouth twitched into a faint smile again. He supposed talking about his sister to an eligible young man was one way to keep his mind from wandering to the next room. He wasn't sure which subject he dreaded more: talking of Georgiana or knowing quite what was happening next door.

* * *

Georgiana watched a cloud of steam rise from the teapot as Harriet poured her a cup. She took it, thanked her, and inhaled the herbal fragrance. After a hot first sip, she focused on Elizabeth standing across the room from her, breathing heavily as she endured another spell of delivery pain.

Elizabeth's pain scared her. She had seen one other woman—a friend's sister—in confinement in the early stages of delivery, and it frightened her. She worried she might faint, and she didn't want to be a burden. She was also flattered that Elizabeth allowed her to be in the room with her. As a maiden, she knew she had no advice to give, but she wanted to support Elizabeth for gossip if she could.

Still her heart beat fast in her chest as she took a seat near where she stood.

What if something went wrong? Harriet and the physician were here, but she knew many village women did not survive childbirth.

She couldn't think about that now.

"How are you now?" she asked gently.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at her, but Georgiana could see she was tired, her eyes puffy. A long, dark piece of wavy hair escaped its pin and fell along her face.

"May I fix your hair for you?" Georgiana offered.

"I can do it, ma'am," Harriet said and came behind Elizabeth to regather and recoil her thick hair.

"Thank you."

"Did you know, in London, some proper society ladies have their hair styled in preparation for delivery?" Georgiana said, unsure what else to add.

"I should think that would be an exercise in futility," Elizabeth said, her eyes closed while Harriet re-pinned her hair. "My head is the least of my thoughts at the moment." She smiled slightly. "The pain increases, but is not too terrible."

A loud knock came at the door, and everyone turned as it opened.

"Lizzie!" Mrs. Bennet, dressed in a day dress, bustled into the room. "It is your mama! I am here!" She called out as though she were in a play.

Elizabeth sighed audibly.

"Hello, Mama. You are awake." It was not a question.

"My dear!" she exclaimed. "Why did you not tell me at dinner? Well, I am here now and may help guide you as only a mother may."

Elizabeth set her hands on her back and walked steadily. "I was not having pains at dinner, Mama, and it may yet be a long while."

"How is Mrs. Darcy?" Dr. McBride asked. The other women all quieted when he came in, as if an unspoken peace had been broken.

"Mrs. Darcy is well enough," Elizabeth said, placing one hand under her stomach and one on her back. "Here comes another. Awww," she said and exhaled deeply.

"Keep walking, if you are able," Dr. McBride said.

"Aye, keep walking," Mrs. Bennet said, sitting in a chair nearby. "Walk until the baby falls out, the midwife used to tell me." She smiled at the other women and picked at the plate of fruit.

"Merciful heaven," Harriet said quietly.

"Oh, Mama." Elizabeth set her hands on the backrest of a high chair and lowered her head to rest her back. "Mama, what roused you?"

"My maternal instincts, of course. I awoke, knew something was amiss and went next door to find something to read, and I saw Mr. Merriweather and the physician coming down the hall. So I dressed and came immediately, as I knew you would want me here."

Georgiana's heart sped up when Adam was mentioned. She wondered how his journey had gone, when Elizabeth exhaled slowly.

"Pain is good. Pain means the baby's coming," Mrs. Bennet said. "Harriet, is there more cold chicken downstairs? Would you bring some up? And more claret? And the bread pudding? La, I have been through this five times. You shall be fine, my dear. But I am famished," she said and giggled like a young girl.

Dr. McBride looked from Elizabeth to Mrs. Bennet. "Mrs. Darcy, forgive me, but do you intend to allow so many people in the room for your delivery?"

Mrs. Bennet's mouth fell open in surprise, making her look for a moment like a fish. "Well, I am not going anywhere! I have had five successful deliveries of my own, Doctor, and I am _her_ _mother_. I daresay I'm more qualified to deliver this babe than anyone else here."

Georgiana hid her smile and wondered how the doctor would react to this challenge. He was younger than Georgiana expected a physician to be, but he only stood and placed his hands behind his back as if to show how accommodating he was. "Mrs. Bennet, I mean no offense. I find deliveries are most successful when the mother's wishes are considered." The doctor had kind, large eyes, very different from the dusty, older physicians she usually saw at her aunt, Lady Catherine's, home.

Elizabeth straightened up and walked slowly past the roaring fireplace and around the room, ignoring her mother. She looked to be in pain now, as she blinked slowly and pushed her breath out.

"Everyone may remain for now," she said, her teeth gritted. "I'm happy for the diversion, but I retain the right to change my mind at any point going forward," she said.

"Lizzie, you wouldn't dismiss me, would you?" Mrs. Bennet bleated, her mouth full of grapes.

Elizabeth cradled her stomach as she eased herself to the bed.

"Well, you'll just have to behave, won't you?"


	6. Chapter 6

One of the kittens galloped past the doorway of the room where Darcy and Adam sat. A moment later, the second one flew by, almost completely airborne. Darcy hadn't known cats could leap like that.

He and Adam looked at each other.

"It seems we are under siege," Darcy said.  
"That's Lady Murderbritches," Adam said and laughed. He walked to the hall and scooped both of the kittens up. "What are you two doing here?" he asked them. "Are you seeking your lady?"

Darcy's instinct was to clear his throat menacingly at the mention of his sister by a young man who was not family, but stopped himself. Perhaps he needed to approach this differently. He watched Adam cradle the kittens in his arms and wondered what to make of him. He was tall, too skinny, and hardly knew how to carry himself as a grown man. But he held the kittens as if they were royal children instead of incredibly lucky barn cats. It was clear he had a tender heart like Georgiana. He seemed kind, which was worlds apart from men like Wickham.

_ Wickham. _The name itself made him vexatious.

But Darcy swallowed. Adam was in trade. If Georgiana truly liked him, he would brook no argument, although he knew his aunt would have to be convinced. As long as he was good to Georgiana, that was what mattered.

Now how could he bloody well find out what was happening in the lying-in room?

One of the kittens leaped from Adam's arm to the floor—again as if its legs were made of springs—and wandered to Darcy's boot, which she sniffed, then craned her neck back to take in the rest of him.

Adam found this hilarious. "Have a care, little one. You are approaching the master of all you see," he said.

Darcy looked down at the kit.

He didn't dislike cats. He just hadn't ever made time get to know one well. He'd always had dogs, and even Banquo, his wolfhound, was waiting for him downstairs.

After a final sniff, the kitten leaped to Darcy's breeches and used her nails to pull herself the rest of the way up to his lap. Adam winced and moved to take her, but Darcy held up his hand.

"No, it's all right. I need to learn patience for young things, don't you think?"

After the initial pin-stick of her nails in his leg, she now sat in his lap and looked at him. Her large green eyes blinked. He could see how Georgiana was charmed by them.

"What are you doing?" he asked and patted the scruff of her neck.

She was tiny. Truly miniature.

This close he could see how vulnerable she was. He guessed she had bones the size of a bird's. He could crush her in the palm of his hand if he wanted. Of course he wouldn't. He couldn't abide cruelty in any form. But he'd never seen something so small and delicate, tiny and curious—other than perhaps his Elizabeth—approach him with no trepidation.

She brushed her head against his hand and purred loudly. When he didn't move, she batted his hand again with her head, this time harder, until she nearly forced his hand to pet her.

"My, you are persistent," he said and allowed her to rub against his hand.

Next to him Adam held the other kitten, who toyed with a piece of fabric from his shirt. "I believe that is Muffin, but I have dubbed her Mrs. Murderbritches."

Darcy couldn't help it, he smiled at the small thing, eager and unafraid. What a remarkable thing nature was, producing a perfect version of the adult cat in miniature. She turned her small furry backside to him and curled up in a ball on his thigh and closed her eyes, her body reverberating with each ragged purr.

The door to the lying-in room opened, and Georgiana exited, closing the door before Darcy could see inside.

She stopped and looked at the two large men, Adam and her brother, who both sat by the fire with a kitten in each lap. Her brows shot up at the sight.

"What is happening?" She looked at them in wonderment.

Adam struggled to pick up his cat and stand, and she waved him down again, laughing. "Oh, please don't stand and ruin what may be the most entertaining moment of my life so far. I was coming out to see my brother, but he seems to have been replaced by St. Francis of Assisi."

To Darcy's annoyance, Adam laughed heartily.

Darcy scowled. It wasn't that humorous.

"Very droll, G. How is Elizabeth?" Darcy said, shifting in his seat without upsetting Muffin.

Georgiana walked to Darcy, not wanting to share intimate news in front of Adam. "She is as to be expected. There is discomfort, but she seems to be carrying it well."

He dropped his voice low. "Is Mrs. Bennet irritating her?"

"Not so far. The physician has given her license to choose who may be in the room, but she is quite tolerant."

"Any idea how much longer?"

Georgiana shook her head, and her eyes then turned back to Adam. Darcy could see her mannerisms shift. She suddenly looked shy.

"Mr. Merriweather, I do want to thank you for your service to our family. It was a very kind thing you did riding out in the snow for the physician."

_Blimey. _Georgiana was gone.

Darcy could see it in the tension in her slender shoulders as she conversed with Adam. She was suddenly formal and oddly careful, not the satirical girl she usually was. If he had been replaced with St. Francis, she had been swapped with any number of ballroom flirts he'd observed. It was amazing to watch his sister alter into a young woman in front of his eyes.

It was then Muffin decided to stretch, leap from Darcy's lap, and trot to Georgiana.

"I must say it is reassuring to see how easily my affections are replaced," Darcy said, finally standing.

Georgiana picked up the kitten and smiled. "You were naught more than a warm lap to her."

Darcy eyed the door to the lying-in room and sighed. "Yes, seems to be my lot in life."

* * *

Georgiana was more charmed by Adam and her brother's antics than she revealed. She was surprised by how her heart sped up seeing Adam again, and she felt color rise on her face.

She considered this as she and a maid collected the kittens and carried them to her room. Fatigue hung heavily over her, and she realized how tired she was. She hadn't slept at all, and it was nearly dawn.

In her room, she meant to return her shawl and quickly change into a lighter dress to accommodate the warm air in the lying-in room. But her bed looked very soft and comfortable, and she couldn't help slipping into her sheets after she undressed. She promised she would only lie for a few minutes before she changed and returned to Elizabeth's chamber. She yawned and found herself snuggling into her soft sheets more deeply. She was supposed to return to help divert Elizabeth. Oh, but her bed was so soft. Just a moment of sleep.

Her last thought was of Adam's warm eyes and how delicious she felt when they looked at her.

* * *

Georgiana opened her eyes.

She was in her room, looking out from her warm bed. A kitten purred near her.

_Elizabeth_!

How long had she been asleep?

She sat up, grabbing the dress she had taken off earlier.

Georgiana spun out of her room, nearly running down the hall. She turned a corner and almost ran into someone.

Ninnywit, she almost said, although she knew she was equally at fault.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up.

Hugh stood in front of her, freshly shaven and dressed in morning clothes. Was it so late the guests were up already? She looked to the window to see if the sun was up, but it was an indistinct winter gray that could have been before or after sunrise.

"Miss Darcy!" Hugh said, sounding equally surprised.

Georgiana didn't have time to explain herself to him. Nor did she want to.

"Excuse me," she said and darted past him.

"Miss Darcy, wait!" she heard him call, but she didn't slow down or look back.

When she got to the room outside Elizabeth's bedchamber, she finally slowed down. She saw her brother slumped in the chair, stripped to his vest and holding his head in his hands.

"Elizabeth! How is she?" Georgiana stood panting, out of breath.

Darcy looked up at her. He had bluish circles under his eyes, and he looked older than she'd ever seen him. His hair was disheveled and his sleeves rolled up as if he had been working.

Her breath caught.

"Is she unwell?"

William exhaled, then reached a hand for her.

"G. Where have you been?"

He grabbed her and held onto her waist. She realized he was crying.

"Lord, what's happened?"

"Her pains slowed. The doctor came out and said he was having trouble keeping her awake. He thought her womb was swollen."

Tears blurred her eyes and she couldn't catch her breath.

She put a hand to her mouth in shock. "No, no."

Georgiana waited for her brother's words, but he said nothing more. She peered at his red-rimmed eyes.

"I don't know anymore. I'm still waiting," he said finally.

"So you don't know—?" she couldn't finish her thought.

William shook his head, his dark curls trembling.

Georgiana looked at the door, her stomach clenching. She'd have to go in and find out herself. She swallowed hard, willing herself to summon the strength. _Dear God, what if I walk in and_ _see something terrible? You must stand it, G. You've lived a sheltered life so far. Now you have to be strong. You must do this for William. _She leaned forward and touched his cheek. They'd lost their parents young, and he'd always taken care of them both. This was her chance to do something for him.

"I will tell you when I learn more," she said, sounding calmer than she felt. William said nothing, only let her pull away from him as his hands went back to cradling his forehead.

Georgiana turned the doorknob, wondering what she'd find behind it.

* * *

Elizabeth was swimming.

She was so tired, her limbs were heavy that she wanted to let go and slide under the heavy silk of slumber. The voices around her grew dim—she could still hear them, just beyond her—but she needed to rest for a few moments. She would come back after she closed her eyes for a bit.

Everything was so heavy, as though she were moving through thick molasses.

She stopped moving and let herself sink.

She slid underneath, where it was quiet and dark and cool. The pinching pain drifted away. She sank into numbing coolness. She was weightless and floating, moving away from the pain, where it was quiet and soft.

Then something pulled at her.

_No, let me sleep. Just a bit longer. _

It pulled again, this time hotter and sharper, rousing her uncomfortably.

She wanted to tell them she needed to sleep longer. Sensation bit into her limbs, everything was heavy. She was so, so tired.

_Please, just let me sleep._

Elizabeth?

_Now._

_Push now._

She surfaced and gulped air, her body filling with light and searing heat, burning through her center. She wanted to move away from it, but couldn't find the strength.

Voices suddenly grew loud and insistent.

"Elizabeth…"

"Mrs. Darcy—"

* * *

Dr. McBride, Harriet and two maids fluttered around Elizabeth, who lay quietly on her side on the bed under layers of linens, her eyes closed. She appeared very white and tired, with dark smudges under her eyes. For a moment, Georgiana caught her breath.

But no, Elizabeth's chemise rose and fell on her chest. She was breathing! She was alive. But she looked very unwell.

A low moan came from across the room, and Georgiana could see Mrs. Bennet, her cap askew, reclining on the love seat, her eyes shut, a cloth folded on her forehead. "Smelling salts," she murmured as though she were in the thralls of a swoon.

So much for maternal instinct.

Harriet met her gaze as Georgiana approached.

"Miss Darcy," Harriet said. "It's good that you have come."

Georgiana's eyes threatened to fill again. "I'm sorry. I lay down for a moment. How is she?"

Dr. McBride's mouth fixed in a tense line as he held her wrist and looked at his pocket watch. "Her pains have slowed down instead of increasing. I am fearful the child may not be advancing as it should."

Georgiana's vision blurred with tears, but she swallowed. She needed to be strong.

"How may I be of service?"

The doctor glanced at her as if seeing her for the first time. "You may sit and speak to her. Ask her to engage with you. I have given her a tincture to reduce the swelling and increase her pains again. She needs to push, if she can."

Harriet stood and allowed Georgiana to sit on the bed near Elizabeth. She grasped Elizabeth's limp hand in hers.

"Elizabeth, it is Georgiana. I am sorry I was absent. I'm here now. William is outside and very worried about you."

The doctor shook his head at her. "Stay cheerful. Be gay," he whispered.

Tears streaked down Georgiana's face, and she felt warm and foolish and utterly inadequate as a midwife companion.


	7. Chapter 7

This time in a cheerful voice, Georgiana started talking to Elizabeth again. "I lay down on the bed and was fast asleep in minutes. La, if I am so tired, I can imagine how you must feel."

The doctor retreated behind the sheet to examine her again.

She held her hand tighter. "Can you hear me, Elizabeth? We are all so excited to meet your baby. I know you wanted to get William something special, but I am surprised you have decided that giving birth on Christmas Day is your gift. That is dedication!" Georgiana sniffed and forced herself smile.

"The kittens slept with me too. I woke to one on my neck and one under the crook of my leg. Of course, as soon as I fell asleep, they chased each other around the room, and then when I rose, they were exhausted, sweet little monsters."

Georgiana tried to think of what else to say. Harriet brought a fresh basin of water and a linen, which Georgiana used to blot Elizabeth's forehead. Georgiana focused on her pale face and dropped her voice into a whisper.

"I wanted to tell you, Elizabeth, that there _is_ someone who I look on with particular affection. You will have guessed this already, for you are so clever about these things." Georgiana pressed the cloth to her forehead and forced her voice to be light. "It is Adam Merriweather. At first I wasn't sure about him, but—as you know—he has been helpful lately."

Georgiana wet the cloth and wrung it. _What if Elizabeth never came back to them?_ She couldn't focus on that.

"I must confess something to you, Lizzie," she said, using her family's nickname for her. "Adam Merriweather kissed me! We were standing at the front door, and we huddled together to stay warm. I know—that may seem improper—but the kitten was shivering so, she was so cold. I was wearing Mrs. Reynolds's coat. Adam found a flask of brandy, and we tippled a bit to stay warm, you see. But he was very proper. He asked permission, and his hands did not roam disrespectfully. He is _very_ tall, and I had to stand on my tiptoes to do it. I enjoyed it, I must be honest. I admit I have not had many kisses, but it was the best one yet."

Elizabeth's wan face jerked from one side to the other. She moved her lips, but said nothing. Georgiana swallowed, pressing the cloth to Elizabeth's cheek and neck.

_Please get better._

"You're doing so well, Lizzie. William is so proud of you."

The doctor looked up at them. "Mrs. Darcy, can you push now?"

Georgiana held her hand more tightly into hers. "Elizabeth, the doctor wants you to push now. Can you do that?"

The room was warm, but Elizabeth's face was cool to the touch, her skin pale and waxen. She seemed not to hear them speak, though her eyelids fluttered. Was she diverted with pain? Was she caught between this world and the next? Georgiana looked at the doctor and hoped he'd tell them what to do next.

"She's not pushing. She must push," the doctor said, his brows creased in a fearful way. For the first time, he sounded urgent.

Harriet looked at Elizabeth. "What if we get her to sit up against the bed, might that help delivery?"

Georgiana's stomach tightened. Is that what they were left with? Propping her up like a rag doll? Fear seared through her.

"Elizabeth, you must push. You must! I know you're tired, but you only need push more and then your baby will be out and well." She touched Elizabeth's soft face. "Do you hear me? Please try, Elizabeth." Her throat caught as she spoke her name.

She couldn't tell William Elizabeth was gone.

Georgiana watched her eyelids flutter again. She pressed her hands into Elizabeth's cool face. "Dearest sister, you must stay. If you go, I have no one to gossip about Lady Catherine with, and you know she'll marry me off to some horrible Lord-Do-Nothing. And because I'll be too grief-stricken to object, my life will be ruined. And poor William will turn bitter and he'll become a peculiar widower that children run away from to avoid. It will be terrible for both of us. You must stay here with us and push! _Please_!"

Tears fell down Georgiana's face. She held Elizabeth's small hand in hers and squeezed it tightly.

"I cannot tell William you are gone."

Georgiana took her hands from Elizabeth's face, and her dark head fell to one side.

And then it stirred.

Elizabeth shook her head in a weak, deliberate no. "No," she said weakly, her eyes still closed. "Too tired."

Georgiana was stunned.

"Elizabeth! Can you hear me?"

Elizabeth's pale lips tightened, and she nodded once.

"She can hear me!" Georgiana stood up and called to the physician. "She can hear me!"

Harriet scurried to Elizabeth's side.

"Mrs. Darcy?" She gently pressed the cloth to her neck and face. Finally, her eyes opened.

"Mrs. Darcy, you must push now," the doctor raised his head and called from behind the sheet.

"Elizabeth, can you push? The doctor wants you to push."

Her eyes opened again. "Too weak," her voice rasped.

"I know you're weak and tired, but you just need to push a little more and then it will be over," Georgiana said.

Harriet came to Elizabeth's other side and grasped her arm. "Mrs. Darcy, it's time for you to push. We're going to put pillows behind you to sit you up." She turned to Georgiana. "Let's pull her up so that she may be in a position to deliver."

Georgiana pushed pillows behind Elizabeth's limp, damp back. She expected the doctor or Harriet to ask her to leave, but no one seemed to be paying her any mind. She wrung her hands nervously and waited.

"Should I leave?" Georgiana finally asked Harriet, who frowned and shook her head.

"No, if Elizabeth responds to you, please stay. You are useful here."

Georgiana's heart fluttered. What if she fainted? She'd never seen a lot of blood. She hoped she could be of service to her sister-in-law. At the same time, her stomach tightened. She'd not been called useful very often. It was thrilling.

Elizabeth moaned quietly.

Harriet leaned toward her and nodded at Georgiana. "Mrs. Darcy, you need to push now."

Elizabeth exhaled and scrunched her face with effort for several moments.

"No. I can't," she said after a minute.

Georgiana grasped her hand and lowered herself so she was face-to-face with Elizabeth.

"You can do this. I know this is hard, but you can do it," she said calmly. Harriet nodded at her.

The doctor nodded. "Push now."

"Just push this once and you'll be done. And you'll have your baby."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Georgiana. They were bloodshot and tearful.

"I can't," she said, and tears streamed down her face.

"You can, Elizabeth. I promise. Gather your strength and try again." Georgiana wasn't sure where her confidence and words came from, but she embraced them.

"Push now, Mrs. Darcy," the doctor said again.

Harriet touched Elizabeth's shoulder. "You are strong enough to do this."

Elizabeth inhaled deeply and bore down again. A guttural moan came from her throat.

"Keep pushing. Scream if you need to," Harriet said.

Elizabeth's moan grew louder as she pushed harder.

"That's it! Keep pushing," the doctor called.

Elizabeth's hair and face were entirely damp and dripped sweat onto her chemise. She was barely recognizable as the woman Georgiana knew. She looked like a fierce ancient warrior in battle. She wondered if she'd ever be able to go through this herself.

"Awwhh," Elizabeth called. "It hurts…"

"That's the shoulder. Keep pushing," Dr. McBride said.

_Shoulder_? Georgiana tried not to imagine it.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and pushed again. She dug her fingers into Georgiana's hand and bore down, shrieking. After several more moments, she fell back against the pillows, panting, her dark eyelashes damp.

"That's it!" the doctor said. Harriet hurried to his side to help.

An infant's cry rose up from where the doctor and Harriet stood.

"It's a girl! A beauty!" Harriet called.

Elizabeth's eyes closed as she exhaled with effort.

Georgiana kissed Elizabeth's hand triumphantly, and in return Elizabeth gave her a faint smile.

Across the room, Georgiana saw Mrs. Bennet's face. She hadn't noticed before, but she was sitting up, watching everything, crying silently. She had seen the whole thing. Georgiana smiled at her, and she managed a weepy smile back.

"May I see her?" Elizabeth asked, trying to crane her neck as Harriet cleaned the infant while the doctor cut the umbilical cord.

"Just a moment," Georgiana told her. "You were so brave."

Harriet brought the baby to Elizabeth swaddled in a hearth-warmed blanket. The infant was small and pink, but had long arms that shook as she cried.

"She has strong lungs," Georgiana noted.

"Aye, strong limbs too," Harriet said. "Are you ready to hold her?"

Elizabeth nodded, and Harriet gently set the baby in her arms. She looked at her new daughter for a long moment as if she were holding her breath. Only the baby's squalls sounded.

"Hello," she whispered, tears rolling down her face. "Oh, I'm crying again. You'd think I'd be out of tears by now." She laughed and tried to wipe them away. "You're so little. And lovely. I'm so happy to meet you."

Elizabeth offered the girl her pinkie finger and she took it. "Now you're calm, aren't you?"

Elizabeth looked up at Georgiana. "Will you get William?"

Doctor McBride stood up. "Mrs. Darcy, now I want you to rest. You don't need visitors bothering you."

A voice came across the room.

"Her husband is the baby's father and not a visitor," Mrs. Bennet said in an imperious tone, standing up more easily than Georgiana had guessed she could. "He shall be let in to see his daughter." Mrs. Bennet folded the cloth that had been on her forehead and calmly walked to Elizabeth's side.

Georgiana decided that the doctor's tenure as leader was over and left the bedside and to fetch her brother.

"William," she started to call as she left the warm room.

William sat in the same seat, almost in the same position, head still in his hands as when Georgiana had left him. He snapped his head toward her when he saw her.

"G.?" he said quietly and stood up.

"It's a girl!" Georgiana said.

He looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Elizabeth...?"

"She is well," Georgiana said and rushed to hug him.

Darcy whole body slumped with relief, and for a moment, it seemed he may fall, but Georgiana's caught and held him up.

"She is well. They both are well."

"Thank Christ," he said quietly.

She fell into his warm embrace and cried.

"Oh, G.," William said, then pulled himself away and stared hungrily at the door. "May I go in?" he asked, suddenly formal.

Georgiana wiped her tears and nodded. "You have been summoned by Mrs. Bennet herself."

As he walked to the door, a shadow caught Georgiana's eyes from the corner of the dim room. It was Adam, standing near a chair, not far behind where William had been waiting. His face was pale and tired and his cravat disheveled. He must have been here with William the whole time.

She blinked.

He was still there. He wasn't a fatigue- or hunger-induced hallucination. He was smiling and looked steady. And he had been there the whole time.

Brushing away her tears, she smiled at him. He shyly grinned back.

The fire in the hearth crackled in the silence.

"Are you well, Miss Darcy?"

"I am. How are you, Mr. Merriweather?" she said as she approached him.

"Fatigued, but relieved." He sighed happily. "Sounds as though Mr. Darcy is a father. And you an aunt."

"Yes, to a baby girl. To think, just a few hours ago, we were only concerned with a small kitten."

He grinned again, his face lighting up. He really was quite handsome. How had she never noticed it before? Her face reddened again.

"One never knows when one can be of service," he said and cleared his throat. "Your charges escaped at one point an hour or so ago. Somehow, they mounted a compelling, but ultimately ineffective campaign. In their favor, they provided a welcome distraction for your brother. However, they have since been rounded up and sent back to their jail, er, their room."

Georgiana' lips quirked up at him. A small voice told her she should be less transparent in her affections, but she was too weary to heed it.

"Pemberley thanks you for your service. It is above and beyond what we expect of our neighbors."

He glanced down, bit his lip, and smiled at her, causing tendrils of warmth to curl through her.

"Miss Darcy, later, when we've all had a proper night's rest and a meal or two and have regained our wits, may I call on you? At present, I'm so addlebrained with fatigue, I fear I may say something completely untoward and you'll despise me and I will never know how I have offended."

Georgiana felt her heart beat as she looked at him. "You seem sensible enough. But perhaps this conversation is a product of that alteration and, tomorrow, you may regret it when your wit has returned."

He shook his head. "That will not happen."

Georgiana shrugged purposefully. "But if you are not yourself now, how will you know?"

Adam pretended to consider this, scratching his chin.

"I only know that if I awake tomorrow and regret this conversation, a more diabolical change in my composition has occurred and I've clearly gone mad."

Georgiana smiled more widely.

Mrs. Bennet, quitting the lying-in room, overheard this exchange and rolled her eyes. "Your conversation makes me glad I am not young anymore."


	8. Chapter 8

Several hours later, Darcy sat in the breakfast room as he, Georgiana, Mrs. and Mr. Bennet, Adam and a few other guests enjoyed a late morning meal. The snow had finally ended, and a few adventurous neighboring guests were able to take their carriages home, while Pemberley staff worked to make paths in the fresh snow. However, other guests like Hugh and Fiona still remained as their carriages could not yet pass. He had never been fond of Hugh and he wasn't particularly sure why. However, in his new role as contented father, he was prepared to be generous to all.

Georgiana looked around the table. "Mr. Bennet, I know Mrs. Bennet attended Mrs. Darcy, but I was not aware that you stayed up all night as well."

Mr. Bennet paused long enough to hold his fork of scrambled eggs. "I did not stay up. My expertise was not necessary, and so I actually slept quite well."

"Oh. I would have expected you would partake in the first breakfast, but here you are now with the night owls."

Mrs. Bennet pursued her lips meaningfully. "He ate the first breakfast. He's here for the second one as well."

Mr. Bennet smiled benignly. "As always, my wife is correct. This is my second breakfast, so I suppose it is not truly 'breakfast.' But I do not turn down fresh eggs"—he paused to spear another strip of bacon—"or bacon if I can help it."

Georgiana nodded and shared a secret smile with Adam, Darcy noted. He was in a hurry to finish his meal and return to the lying-in room to see Elizabeth and the baby again. Still, even he could see the burgeoning affection between his sister and their neighbor.

Normally, this would have given him dyspepsia, but he felt none of his usual anxiety and even patted Georgiana's hand affectionately. Truly, fatherhood had changed him. He had a happy, healthy family, and he wanted everyone around him to have the same. He smiled at Georgiana's bewildered face, and she turned to see if someone was behind her.

"I'm smiling at you, silly," Darcy said gently to Georgiana.

His sister turned back to him. "Yes, it's odd to see you smile for no good reason."

"But I have every reason to smile this morning," Darcy answered and realized he believed it. As long as Elizabeth and the baby were well, he had reason to smile every day. His enthusiasm caused Adam and Georgiana to again roll their eyes and exchange glances.

* * *

After breakfast, Darcy asked Georgiana to join him in his office briefly. For a moment, she wondered what she'd done wrong, but Darcy's bliss at new fatherhood was impenetrable and he grinned at her when he said it.

He actually grinned, she realized and shook her head.

Still she entered his office with some trepidation, sensing that he may want to have a word with her about Adam Merriweather and unsure of what the result might be.

"G., please sit down."

_Oh, Lord._ He rarely asked her to sit down in his beloved office.

Darcy stood up from his desk and turned to take in the view of snow-covered fields from the window behind him.

She looked at the back of his shoulders and wondered what was coming.

"G., it would take a blind man not to notice that you and Mr. Merriweather are getting on well this holiday."

Georgiana's face reddened, and she clasped her hands in her lap. What impediments was he imagining up at the moment? Even for him, this was premature.

"Brother, I will not deny it, but I think it's early to spin me a list of reasons he is unsuitable. I know his mother's American. Yes, his father is a businessman and works for a living, and he probably isn't as stylish as you'd like. London society will not take to him, but I've never cared for fine society's caprices—"

Darcy turned back and sat down, his face blank.

"All true," Darcy said finally. "But I've asked you here because I think you should give him a chance _despite_ your stated reasons."

Georgiana opened her mouth, prepared to launch an extensive defense of Mr. Merriweather, but his words stopped her.

"Pardon?" Georgiana paused and looked at her brother. "Wait. You are willing to give me a chance to get to know him?"

Darcy nodded, a knowing smile crossing his face.

"I...I am surprised," Georgiana finally said.

For God's sake, he was grinning again.

"Georgiana, dear heart. I only want your happiness. That means finding a suitable man to share your life if you'd like. But if there's one lesson I've had impressed upon me in the last year, it is that that person may not be who you thought initially."

Georgiana listened, saying nothing.

Darcy cleared his throat.

"There were a few moments the previous night when I imagined what my life might be like if Elizabeth were not in it." He breathed in and exhaled slowly as if to purge the memory from his body.

Georgiana's own eyes filled. She nodded and simply looked at her brother.

"Thankfully, those fears did not come to fruition," Darcy said, and Georgiana felt a tear streak down her cheek.

He swallowed and continued. "I want you to be as happy as Elizabeth and I are, and I now see that your happiness may involve someone different from whom we have imagined for you."

He reached across the desk and set his warm hand over hers, surprising her.

"If someone makes you truly happy and has your best interests in mind, I will not dispute it."

Georgiana gave him a wet, grateful smile as she swallowed the lump resting in her throat.

"Thank you, William."

He nodded.

"I think Lady Catherine may have a different viewpoint…" Georgiana said.

"Why don't you leave Lady Catherine's opinions to me? I have some experience championing spouses she deems unsuitable, you know."

Georgiana laughed, again wondering how she had gotten quite so lucky in a brother. She stood and made a beeline to Darcy to embrace him.

"Thank you so much."

He patted her light hair, overwhelmed by the shocks of happiness he'd experienced in the last few hours.

"Now I must attend to Mrs. Darcy and the newest female in my life. I know I am outnumbered, and yet, I've never been quite so pleased." He paused. "I meant to ask, are your kittens well?"

Georgiana nodded. "I'm to go feed them now. Does this mean you've come around on feline housemates?"

Darcy stood up and opened his office door, smiling faintly. "I will say I appreciate them today in a way I did not a few days ago." He paused. "I am finding small, vulnerable creatures can quite steal your heart." His voice hitched on the last word.

Georgiana spontaneously kissed his cheek as he followed her out of his office.

_The End._

_Author's Note: Want to know what happens next? This is book 1 in the Pemberley Ever After Series. Book 2 is Springtime at Pemberley. I'm currently writing Book 3. If you like my work, you can find more Regency books by Grace Sellers where ebooks are sold. Thanks for all your comments._

Also, sorry about the formatting issues!

_GS_


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